My final destination for my evening was Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, a beautiful and cozy club inside the Royal Sonesta Hotel on Bourbon Street, although I had to endure a nerve-jarring walk through the maddening crowds on Bourbon to get there (next time I’ll probably just walk Chartres or Royal instead). One of the neat things about this jazz club is that they often have a late-night show that begins at midnight, and on this particular night, the show was by a traditional band called the New Orleans Swamp Donkeys Traditional Jass Band, and I have to say that they were great to be some young guys. They have a firm grasp of the traditional early jazz styles, and are all accomplished musicians. Unfortunately, my difficult walk from Frenchmen Street had taken some time due to the crowds, and I only got to see the last 35 minutes of their final set. But it was worth the effort.